"Seeds We Eat"

The amazing seed -- it's edible, and delectable! In this garden, students will study, harvest, compare and dissect corn seeds sunflower seeds and many varieties of beans. How are these seeds the same? How are they different? What patterns and shapes can we discover in an ear of corn, the head of a sunflower, or the spiral of a bean plant? This unit is chock full of literature, poems, songs and art. Seeds will be the basis for surveys, sorting, classifying and counting. We will also make popcorn -- lots of popcorn! -- using both air poppers and a wire basket over a mobile fire pit. Other cooking experiences will include roasting sunflower seeds and heirloom bean chili.

Spring Lessons

Have you ever planted something in the gardens at Atkinson? What did you plant? We are going to plant a garden soon. We will plant seeds. We will also plant starts. What is a start? Why might we plant a start instead of a seed? What do you think will be the needs of these seeds/starts over the summer (sun, water, weeding)? What do you think will be the needs of these seeds over the summer (sun, water, weeding)? How will this happen (discuss irrigation system, volunteers)? What are some of the problems that our plants might encounter (pests, drought) over the summer?

The garden we are going to plant will have a theme. In the fall, you will have moved on to another class, so you won't harvest these plants. This garden will provide a gift to your teacher's incoming fall class. It will be a surprise for them. Likely, someone will plant a surprise garden for your class to harvest in the fall, too. The garden we plant will have the theme of ... what will it be? Dramatically open the mystery envelope, pull out the slip of paper and read the theme out loud (or have a student or the teacher read it.) The theme of our garden is "Seeds We Eat."

What are some seeds we eat? What do you think we might plant for this garden? In this garden we will plant sunflowers, beans and corn. Let's look at our seeds. You will find a recipe or recipes in the box, and a list of plants and seed packets -- along with any special instructions for planting them, and a blank garden map. Talk about the recipes. Bring in the starts that have been waiting in the hall or back of the classroom. Examine the seeds and starts -- discuss and compare. How are they alike? How are they different? How many different kinds of beans are there in the world?

Before planting, be sure that your garden box has a grid in place. Half the class should go out to the garden and plant half the seeds and starts. They should record on a map of the garden where they have planted the various seeds and starts. Talk about the grid in your box how it is useful. Take some time to look at grids in other boxes. Are they all the same? Have each child make a map of your box to take home, while the parent volunteer or teacher makes a large map to include in the letter/packet to next year's class. While half the class is in the garden, the other half of the class should listen to the story "The Huckabuck Family and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back" by Carl Sandburg. Look at a map of the US and find the states and cities that are mentioned in the story. Discuss the story. Did this story take place recently? How can you tell? Do you think it is true or not? Make and taste some popcorn in an air popper. The two class halves should switch roles and repeat the activities.

Once all the students have been to the garden, they should write a letter about the garden/theme to the incoming class. Here's a sample letter:

Dear (Kindergartners),

We have a surprise for you. We have planted a garden for you to harvest. All the plants growing in this garden have seeds that are for eating. How many different kinds of seeds can you find? Here's a map of where we planted the vegetables. Do you like popcorn?Happy Harvesting!

(The Kindergartners From Last Year)

Materials for spring lesson

A mystery envelope that contains a paper on which is written "Seeds We Eat"

Blank maps of garden marked with grid

The Huckabuck Family and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back by Carl Sandburg

A US map to trace the travels of the Huckabuck family

Recipe for popcorn, toasted sunflower seeds, heirloom chili

An air-popper, popcorn, bowl, paper cups, salt

Sample letter and materials for letter writing (wax, envelopes, etc.)

Seeds and starts (starts stored separately) to plant:

Sunseed sunflower (or Snack Mix)

Assortment of different heirloom beans (recommended from Red Truck Farm)

Begin
the year's garden lesson by asking the class if they planted a garden
last spring. What did they plant? What have they eaten from the
garden in the past? If the class is a kindergarten, begin the
discussion by asking about gardening in a more general way, not
specific to the Atkinson gardens. Ask the kindergartens if they have
even planted anything in a garden. Have they ever harvested anything
from a garden? This fall, we are going to harvest a garden that
another class planted for us last spring. If there are letters
available from the previous year's class, now is the time to read
them. What kind of garden has been planted for you? Visit the
garden. Make your garden visits in small groups. Don't
pick anything yet, but do ask the students to point out and discuss
what is growing. If you have a garden map left from the class who
planted the garden, use it to identify the plants. Bring a clipboard
and paper out to the garden and with the help of the students, list the
plants that you see there. Walk around the gardens and look around at
the other garden boxes. What other plants are growing in the garden?
What plants do you recognize? What is new to you? Be sure not to
harvest from any boxes (yet.)

Return
to the Edible Seeds garden. Look carefully at the corn (shuck one),
the sunflowers, and the beans (open a pod.) What patterns do you
notice? Look for spirals and rows.

Bring
out paper and drawing implements of your choice (crayons, paint,
markers or colored pencils.) Ask the students to sit quietly by their
garden box and draw 1) a picture that depicts the entire box (all the
plants) and 2) choose one plant to draw in more detail and 3) one
enlarged detail of that plant, such as a leaf or the head of a
sunflower. Use a different piece of paper for each of these drawings.
If possible, use high quality paper, cut in half/thirds/quarters, as
necessary to make the activity affordable.

What
is a seed? Read a book about seeds. There are several books
recommended here on this site, but there are many others. Ask the
students to bring to class several seeds from home. Make a class seed
collection. Discuss the various seeds and find ways of categorizing
them by attributes into groups. How many of the seeds are edible?
What does edible mean? Physically sort the edible seeds into a group
then glue them to a poster. Label the seeds. Make a second poster to
non-edible seeds.

Why do beans make people gassy? Read The Gas We Pass. Discuss. Sing the bean song.

Bean Songs

Bean Song I Beans, beans, the miracle fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. So let's have beans with every meal!

Bean Song II My dog Lima likes to roam One day Lima left his home He came back all nice and clean Where oh where had Lima been Lima been Lima been Where oh where has Lima bean Repeat subbing different bean names for the dog. Coffee Pinto Espresso

A parent could bring in a sewing machine,
hot glue guns, fabric glue, or the kids could stitch. After the kids
make the bean bags, use them to create some math games. The bags could
be tossed into baskets that have number values to create equations. Or
tossed onto a very large laminated hundreds chart.

Here's a bean math game:

Gather up a large number of beans to work with. Any type of bean will do.

Decide what number you are going to work on with your class. It can be any number.

As
a whole class, count out the number of beans you plan to use. Then,
take that number of beans and hide them in your hands, behind your back.

Divide
the beans between your hands while still keeping them behind your back.
As an example, if the children have counted out nine beans, put five
beans in one hand and four in the other, or any other combination that
adds up to nine.

Take
your hands out from behind your back, and show the children how many
beans are in one hand only. The children then figure out how many beans
are in your other hand to total the sum that you started with.

Keep
playing with the same number of beans by using different combinations
to get the same number. There are many combinations to get to the same
sum.

Popcorn lessons:

Listen
to the song “Popcorn” by Hot Butter. Discuss. Why do you think this
song is called “Popcorn?” Consider having the kids choreograph a dance
to go with the song that depicts the making of popcorn.

Read the popcorn books suggested on this website.

String
a popcorn garlands for birds. If you leave popcorn out for a few days,
it will get stale and hold together better when strung. String popcorn
with thread and needle. You can also add berries, dried fruits, nuts,
seeds, between the popcorn. Hang the popcorn garlands on tree branches
outside for the birds.

Make
popcorn over a stove, with an air-popper, and over a mobile firepit.
Discuss how the methods make the popcorn vary in taste, convenience,
health.

Take a cup of popcorn
and weigh it on a scale. Record the weight. Pop the popcorn. Weigh a
cup of popped kernels. How much does it weigh? Is there a difference?

Sunflower lessons:

Study
the patterns in the head of a sunflower. What is a row? What is a
spiral? Where else can we find rows and spirals? Take a look at the
pattern lessons (they are an attachment on the legacy home page.)

Read Camille and the Sunflowers. Who was Vincent van Gogh? Have the children make sunflower paintings in the classroom.

The Sunflowers

Come with meinto the field of sunflowers.Their faces are burnished disks,their dry spines

creak like ship masts,their green leaves,so heavy and many,fill all day with the sticky

sugars of the sun.Come with meto visit the sunflowers,they are shy

but want to be friends;they have wonderful storiesof when they were young -the important weather,

the wandering crows.Don't be afraidto ask them questions!Their bright faces,

which follow the sun,will listen, and allthose rows of seeds -each one a new life!

hope for a deeper acquaintance;each of them, though it standsin a crowd of many,like a separate universe,

is lonely, the long workof turning their livesinto a celebrationis not easy. Come

and let us talk with those modest faces,the simple garments of leaves,the coarse roots in the earthso uprightly burning.

Harvesting Instructions and Recipes

Sunflower harvest Instructions:
You
can begin to harvest sunflower seeds as soon as the center flowers turn
brown or the backs of the heads turn yellow, to prevent birds from
stealing them. Cut them, leaving a piece of stem to hang them in a well
ventilated place to finish drying. Cover them with netting, paper sacks
with holes or cheesecloth to catch falling seeds as they dry. They
can be allowed to dry on the stalk, but you'll have to cover them this
way to keep the birds from eating them all before you can harvest them
for yourself!

Roasting Instructions:

When the seeds can be
rubbed easily from the head, it's dry and the seeds are ready to be
roasted for eating. First, remove them from the heads and pick out any
pieces of stem or other debris.

Mix a quarter of a cup or so of plain salt to a quart of water, and soak the seeds in this overnight.

Next
day: Spread them on cookie sheets and roast in a very slow oven (150
to 200 degrees) until completely dry. Stir them once or twice during
the drying time; this will take three or four hours. Put them in Ziploc
bags with air removed for kids to take home.

Popcorn harvest instructions:Allow
the kernels to dry in the field as long as possible. When harvested,
the kernels should be hard and the husks completely dry. Definitely
remove them before first frost. After harvest, remove the husks and
place the ears in mesh bags and hang in a warm, dry, well-ventilated
location. The ideal moisture content for popcorn is between 13 and 14%.
Once or twice a week, shell a few kernels and try popping them. When
the test kernels are popping well and tasting good, shell and store the
rest of the kernels. If the popcorn is "chewy" or the popped kernels
are jagged, it is too wet and needs to continue drying. Drying time is
about 1 -1 ½ months. After curing take kernels off corn. Simply grasp
the ear firmly in both hands and twist until the kernels drop out. Once
started, the kernels drop off with very little pressure. You will get
scratched, wearing gloves is recommended. Pop homegrown popcorn just
as you would store-bought.

Bean harvest instructions:

Dry beans
are harvested when they rattle in the pod. Pull up the plant by hand
and hang from the roots. Traditionally, bean plants are lashed to a 5-
to 7-foot high pole. You can harvest up to 5 acres of beans by hand but
more than that will need specialized harvesting equipment for your
tractor.

Dry beans require threshing – getting the beans out of
the pods. For small amounts, you can do this by hand by squeezing the
pods open. A traditional method is to hold the plant by the roots and
bang it against the inside of a barrel. For more than about a half-acre
of beans, you might want to invest in threshing equipment.

After
threshing, beans must be cleaned and sorted. For small amounts, do this
by hand, using a screen and a hair dryer to blow off debris (or an air
compressor if you have it). Split beans can be fed to farm animals. For
large bean harvests, you can buy a seed cleaner.

If beans are soft (bite one and see), continue drying them until they feel firm to the bite before moving them to storage.

Freezing beans before storage kills any potential insects such as the pesky bean weevil.
Storage and Preservation:

Store
dry beans in a dry, cool, airtight container away from sunlight. Beans
are best used in the season after they have been harvested, but they
will last for several seasons if needed.

Adult
to do ahead of time: Soak dry beans before cooking, place them in a
pot and cover them with water and let them sit overnight. On a
stove top, heat a small non-stick skillet. Place the anise seeds in the
skillet and cook, stirring or shaking occasionally, until they are
toasted. They will turn a shade darker and will begin to crackle when
toasted. Remove from heat.